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AIR FORCE IN CRISIS: Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and chief of staff Gen. Mark Welsh are set to return to the Hill today for yet another round of questioning amid two unfolding scandals that have rocked the service.Yesterday brought the revelation that 17 officers have been stripped of their authority to control nuclear missiles at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., following an unsatisfactory review. The Associated Press has the scoop on the suspensions: http://ow.ly/kQGE7

-- Welsh’s remarks spur outrage: In a SASC hearing Tuesday, the general suggested a “hookup mentality” was partially to blame for increasing reports of sexual assaults in the military — leading to condemnation yesterday from lawmakers. “This is more of the blame the victim instead of blame the perpetrator,” Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) told POLITICO. And Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) said Welsh’s comments were “absolutely” victim-blaming. POLITICO’s Juana Summers has more here, for Pros: http://politico.pro/17Mj089

— Reid asks for UCMJ legislation: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wrote a letter to SASC leaders yesterday, encouraging them to pass legislation that would eliminate the ability of commanders to reverse sexual assault convictions under the Uniform Code for Military Justice. “This authority, which can currently be exercised without any stated reason or regard for the merits of a case, cannot continue to be an impediment to accountability and justice,” Reid wrote. The letter is here, for Pros: http://ow.ly/kQFS2

— Minot Air Force Base under scrutiny: Welsh defended his top commanders for sidelining 17 launch crew members at the North Dakota base, arguing that they “took aggressive action” to set high standards. “I don’t believe we have a nuclear security risk at Minot Air Force Base. I believe we have commanders who are taking very aggressive actions to make sure that never occurs,” Welsh said yesterday in a Senate hearing. “In that respect, this is a good thing.”

— Durbin dissatisfied with Donley explanation: Donley said of the Minot Air Force Base suspensions that “we need to remember that these are lieutenants, by and large, some of them can be new to the Air Force, they’re within their first few years.” But Sen. Dick Durbin, the chairman of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, called this explanation “troubling.”

“It is cold comfort to hear these are lieutenants, and they may have been new to the job,” Durbin told Donley. “When I consider this responsibility, that is as troubling as the disclosures that we’ve found” about officers being suspended.

HAPPENING TODAY — HAGEL SPEECH: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at the annual Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Soref Symposium at 7 p.m. at the Ritz-Carlton. “He’s expected to lay out security challenges and opportunities in the Middle East — and to discuss his recent visit to the region,” said a senior defense official. Last month, Hagel went to the Middle East to meet with defense leaders of Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

EMOTION FLARES IN BENGHAZI HEARING: The testimony of Gregory Hicks, the former deputy chief of mission in Libya, added an element of real emotion to yesterday’s House hearing on Benghazi. Hicks’s voice cracked as he described the phone call in which he was told U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens had passed away. Hicks’s “most explosive revelation centered on an assertion that a four-man special operations team based in Tripoli was allegedly told not to make the flight to Benghazi on the night of the attacks,” POLITICO’s Ginger Gibson reports. More here: http://ow.ly/kQGYg

TOP TALKER — WATCHDOG SAYS GOVERNMENT WANTS TO SILENCE HIM, by POLITICO’s Stephanie Gaskell: “The watchdog who tracks the billions of taxpayer dollars spent to rebuild Afghanistan says government officials have tried to silence him because they think he's embarrassing the White House and Afghan President Hamid Karzai by pointing out the waste and fraud. John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, used a speech at the New America Foundation on Wednesday to blast government ‘bureaucrats’ who have told him to stop publicizing damning audits that detail case after case of waste, corruption and mismanagement of rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan.” http://politi.co/171ersL

NAVY DEFENDS LCS AFTER ROUGH TWO DAYS: The Navy is defending its littoral combat ship in the wake of a rough couple days for the program, acknowledging it hasn’t done enough to explain the LCS to lawmakers and reporters and saying it has fixed many of the problems raised by members of Congress over the past two days in hearings on Capitol Hill. “I feel very confident in the ship out there, both the Freedom and Independence classes,” Vice Adm. Richard Hunt told reporters on a conference call yesterday afternoon.

“To some degree, people are poking at issues that are old — and perhaps it’s our fault for not updating them,” Hunt said, referring to criticisms that have come up repeatedly regarding the ship’s costs and survivability.

MISSILE DEFENSE BOSS: NO NEED FOR $250 MILLION FOR EAST COAST MISSILE SHIELD: The director of the Missile Defense Agency says he would have no need for an additional $250 million next fiscal year to help plan for a new missile-defense site on the East Coast. Last month, 16 Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee signed a letter calling on congressional appropriators to add at least $250 million to the Pentagon’s budget for fiscal 2014 for expenses related to the East Coast site.

Yesterday afternoon, Vice Adm. James Syring said the funds would not be necessary “at this time.” During a House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing, Syring said the Pentagon’s budget request for 2014 would be enough to cover the environmental impact studies scheduled for next year to assess possible locations for the site. “Hundreds of sites have been considered,” Syring said, explaining that he would submit his recommendation to Pentagon leaders by the end of the year.

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INSIDE TODAY’S POLITICO — ROUND TWO FOR NEW MARINE ONE: The Navy’s second attempt to build a new fleet of presidential helicopters could face some strong political headwinds. The service is now seeking proposals from industry for the new presidential choppers, flown by the Marine Corps and called “Marine One” when the president is on board, and a number of top contractors are already eyeing the prestigious contract.

But industry sources and lobbyists working on the program tell us they’re worried the VXX Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program could become a target for deficit hawks in Congress. And Sen. John McCain, who in 2009 help derail a previous program to build a new presidential helicopter, laughed when asked by Morning D whether he believes the military has learned lessons from its past attempt. “Let’s hope — we can only hope,” the Arizona Republican said, adding, “I think it’s appropriate to look at a presidential helicopter, but it better be something reasonable.” Here’s our full story: http://politi.co/12iC4aF

WHAT PROS ARE READING:

— STUDY: AEROSPACE INDUSTRY RESILIENT, by POLITICO’s Leigh Munsil: “Despite deep defense cuts, the closely tied aerospace industry will be able to make up lost revenue in the commercial and international sectors, a new study says.” http://politico.pro/172PA7S

— MORE DEFENSE BUDGET TURBULENCE AHEAD, by POLITICO’s Austin Wright: “Buckle up. ‘We’re on track to have a year that’s probably a little weirder than last year, which was a terribly confusing year,’ Jay Maroney, a staffer with the Senate Armed Services Committee, told a defense forum Wednesday.” Here’s the full story: http://politico.pro/13ADdMg

— EXPERTS: HIGHEST HURDLES TO COME FOR COMMERCIAL DRONES, by POLITICO’s Caitlin Emma: “Commercializing the use of drones in the United States could unlock vast potential in applications outside the military, but the greatest regulatory and public perception hurdles are yet to come, speakers at a forum on domestic drones said Wednesday.” http://politico.pro/16hpn5f

MAKING MOVES:

— NEW HEAD OF JOINT RAPID ACQUISITION CELL: Hagel has named Andrew Hunter the new director of DoD’s Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell in the Pentagon’s acquisitions shop. Hunter was previously a special assistant to the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.

— NAVY PROMOTES FOUR: Navy Vice Adm. Scott Swift was assigned as director of Navy Staff in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Swift, who’s currently serving as commander of the Seventh Fleet based in Japan, was one of four Navy promotions yesterday. The rest are available here: http://1.usa.gov/11TsIli

— NEW DIRECTOR OF ARMY STAFF: Army Lt. Gen. William Grisoli was assigned as director of the Army Staff. Grisoli, currently serving as director of the Army’s Office of Business Transformation, was one of three Army promotions yesterday. The rest are available here: http://1.usa.gov/17MsdgK

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THAT’S ALL FOR US. Have a great Thursday.

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